


In the Water

by glorious_spoon



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Gen, Hypothermia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-21
Updated: 2018-01-21
Packaged: 2019-03-07 12:10:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13434450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glorious_spoon/pseuds/glorious_spoon
Summary: Jack is waiting for rescue.





	In the Water

**Author's Note:**

> Posting a handful of Tumblr prompt-ficlets here tonight so I don't lose them. Originally posted [here.](http://glorious-spoon.tumblr.com/post/169869712091/jack-thompson-k-on-the-edge-of-consciousness)

All he needed to do was keep breathing. Just that one thing. Keep breathing.

Keep breathing and keep his head above water. Two things. Carter and Sousa were on their way.

 _“Close,”_ Peggy had said, and he’d heard her voice cracking and knew it was a lie, of course Peggy would lie to him about this because she was Peggy and she was so desperately, fiercely, unreservedly kind. Even to him, even when he’d never really done anything to deserve it. _“Jack, we’re so, so close, just hold on a little longer.”_

That was before his radio stopped working. A while ago. It was getting hard to track time, his thoughts going slippery and strange, disconnected, pulling apart like soft taffy. The icy water lapped at his chin now, but he thought it had stopped rising. Every time a wave broke against his cheek, he could taste salt, but he was pretty sure it had stopped rising. Slowed, anyway. Otherwise he would have drowned already.

He was so goddamn cold. It was like he could feel the water seeping into his pores and chilling him down to the bone. His wrist, looped in a rough length of rope hooked to a high beam, had been rubbed raw. When it was still light, he’d been able to see the thin curls of blood in the water, but it was dark now, and he couldn’t see anything. Could barely feel his hand, or the injury itself, which was probably a bad sign.

At least there weren’t any sharks in this water. He hoped.

Tired. He was so tired…

Another splash of icy water slapped at his face, stinging his eyes, and he jerked his head up. There was a dangerous lassitude settling into his limbs.

He knew what that meant. He’d been in the Navy, once upon a time, in another lifetime, and he remembered his training. The body lost heat faster in water than in air, and he’d been submerged for a long damn time.

Hypothermia wasn’t the worst way to go. He’d seen worse in his time. Deserved worse, probably.

But Peggy and Daniel were coming. They were coming, and he knew Peggy had been lying about _soon_ , he knew that, but—

He forced his head up, forced his stinging eyes to open, curled his numb fingers around the rope, and hung on.


End file.
